User blog:BananasAreAnnoying/My thoughts on Mario Kart 64
Note: This is just my opinion! When the question of "Which Mario Kart game is the best?" comes up, the majority of people will have Mario Kart 64 at or very near the top of the pack. Having owned, played, and beaten the game myself, I struggle to understand WHY... Many people point to the "innovation" of the game... it brought 3D graphics into play. I always find this to be a weak positive for MK64 though, because that's to be expected when you make a game for the more powerful Nintendo 64. If anything, the graphics are very underwhelming when you compare them to other titles, especially Rareware's, like Jet Force Gemini, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie. Also, just take a look at World Driver Championship... If you ask me, Mario Kart 64 really slacked... it seems like they just tried to produce it without taking their time with its presentation. Another point a lot of people like to bring up is the tracks. I admit, they are some of the best in the series, I love the design and gimmicks found in them. The music goes along well with them, too. However, what really RUINS these tracks is the f***ing game controls. Mario Kart 64 is easily the worst controlling game in the series. The drifting, basic turning and shell aiming suck like a vacuum cleaner on maximum power. A lot of times when I shoot a Green Shell, they miss by a longshot, and in any other MK game I can get hits with them. The freakin' Red Shells will run into a wall unless the guy is right in front of you. Like, I WANTED to enjoy these tracks, but I simply can't when the controls are a piece of trash. The Balloon Battle mode often receives a lot of praise. Well, I agree that it deserves SOME of this. I absolutely love Big Donut and Block Fort, and I like the idea of last-man-standing, not a timed battle. Again though, it suffers from the terrible controllability, and also when I played on four player with my brothers and sister, the music cut out. And Banjo-Tooie four player multiplayer has music on all the battle modes, so don't give me any "the system can't handle it." is spectacular!]]In my opinion, the main thing that Mario Kart 64 has going for it is nostalgia, possibly the biggest factor in what makes a game considered "good." Which I think is stupid... you can play the most horrid game on Earth ever, but the nostalgia of it can make it seem good. What separated the really good games from the mediocre is when you strip nostalgia and love for the title away and look at its actual structure and playability. I get that many people played MK64 in the past and so thus have a special place in their heart for it, but it just can't be overlooked that it is an ugly looking, hard-to-play Mario Kart game. I've enjoyed the entire MK series (except Double Dash/8 Deluxe, the only ones I haven't played), including MK64. But I can say without a doubt that it's the one I found least enjoyable of all. Disagree with my opinion? Let me know in the comments, and thanks for reading! Category:Blog posts Category:Blog Posts